Vancouver Whitecaps Lenarduzzi fires assistant coaches

Caps make way for Coach Rennie

Just days after the Whitecaps finished their first Major League Soccer season in last place, GM Bob Lenarduzzi announced that the club has fired assistant coaches Colin Miller and Denis Hamlett to make way for the incoming head coach Martin Rennie and his staff.

Rennie will be in Vancouver next week to begin post-season camp with the team, hoping to turn things around for next year with a fresh start & fresh staff.

Rennie is the former head coach of NASL Carolina RailHawks, and Lendarduzzi has speculated that he’ll bring Paul Ritchie, his assistant coach for the past two seasons, to Vancouver to continue working alongside him.
Former assistant coach Colin Miller originally joined the Whitecaps under Teitur Thordarson who was fired at the end of May.

Make way for the new Coach Martin Rennie

Denis Hamlett, former head coach of Chicago Fire FC, joined the Whitecaps earlier this year in an effort to bring some MLS experience to the new team.

Neither are bitter about getting the axe, telling reporters it’s all part of a career in professional soccer and that they figured Rennie would want his own men working with him.

Tying New England for last place with only six wins out of 34 games was far less than the Whitecaps wanted to achieve coming out of the gate, but it’s not all bad news.

Jumping the gun and making immediate changes may prove effective for the success of the club next year.

“So I can’t tell you exactly how the feelings are. But the players who didn’t play that much this year, they have to prove [themselves”] and be strong in these 10 days. After a long, long season like that, it’s not easy to find the last power you have in your body, but we’ll have a lot of talks with the new coach and see what he expects of the team.”

The season wrap up video the team just put out highlights the best of Vancouver’s efforts at their first shot in the MLS – worth a watch!